Universal to build Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan

The parent company of Universal Orlando is trying to squeeze as much magic as it can out of Harry Potter's wand.

Less than six months after announcing plans to build a clone of Orlando's Wizarding World of Harry Potter at its Universal Studios Hollywood in Southern California, NBCUniversal's theme-park division announced Thursday that it will build a copy of the wildly popular attraction at its Japanese theme park, too.

The Wizarding World at Universal Studios Japan is scheduled to open in late 2014 — more than a year before the California version is expected to debut.

Universal executives have also said they will soon "significantly expand" the Wizarding World at Universal Orlando — likely by extending the boy wizard's presence, which is currently contained solely in the resort's Islands of Adventure theme park, into Universal Studios Florida next door.

The Japanese project was announced at a ceremony Thursday in Osaka that included executives from Universal Parks & Resorts, Warner Bros. Entertainment and local government leaders, as well as actors from the Harry Potter films.

Universal said the Wizarding World in Japan will be similar to the Orlando version, with a replica of Hogwarts castle, Hogsmeade village and multiple themed attractions. The project will cost about $500 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Universal Orlando version cost about $265 million, according to a person familiar with the budget.

"I was delighted to experience and enjoy the attention to detail, creativity and superb craft that went into the first Wizarding World in Orlando," J.K. Rowling, author of the book series that spawned the Harry Potter phenomenon, said in a prepared statement. "I am equally delighted that the same level of expertise and enjoyment will translate to the new park in Japan."

Asia is an important source of traffic for the big theme parks on the U.S. West Coast — Disney, for instance, says Asian travelers are a key market for Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., where international traffic is now approaching 10 percent of overall resort attendance.

But a spokesman for Universal indicated that the company is not concerned about new Wizarding Worlds in both California and Japan competing for similar pools of travelers.

"Universal's theme parks across the globe have long complemented each other," Universal Parks & Resorts spokesman Tom Schroder said. " Each destination thrives in its market and is able to attract guests from a wide area. Beyond that, the stories of Harry Potter are a global phenomenon"

The Harry Potter franchise has been hugely successful for Universal.

Although the original Wizarding World opened nearly two years ago, company executives say it is still driving attendance and guest-spending gains at Universal Orlando.

NBCUniversal's parent company, Comcast Corp., reported earlier this month that its total theme-park revenue climbed 7 percent during the first quarter of this year — to $412 million — thanks primarily to continued interest in Wizarding World as well as a 2-year-old King Kong attraction in California.

Operating cash flow for Comcast's parks jumped 17.1 percent to $157 million.

"We … continue to be very bullish about Orlando, where you've got Harry Potter over a year old and doing great," NBCUniversal's chief executive officer, Steve Burke, said when the earnings were released.

jrgarcia@tribune.com or 407-420-5414

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Ski resorts around the world use artist's hand-painted panoramas in their trail maps

LOVELAND, Colo. (AP) — If you've ever gone skiing at an unfamiliar resort without getting lost, chances are you have James Niehues to thank.

Niehues, 65, is the man behind the trail map. His hand-painted panoramas have been reproduced into millions of pocket-sized maps handed out by ski resorts in North America, Japan, Korea, China, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Serbia.

"His trail maps are as much a part of the sport as snow," said Greg Ditrinco, executive editor of Ski Magazine.

That's high praise for a fellow whose formal art training consisted of a "learn to draw" mail-order course, taken in ninth grade while home sick from school.

Niehues always wanted to find a job that "had a little art." After the Army, he worked as an offset pressman, an ad layout artist and a designer before contacting Bill Brown, who painted the majority of the ski maps in the 1970s and 1980s.

Niehues went to Brown looking for some encouragement, but left with a commission. Brown was moving away from maps and into video, and asked Niehues to take over painting an inset for a Winter Park, Colo., trail map.

From his start in 1987 until today, Niehues has painted about 300 panoramas, mostly of ski resorts, but also of golf courses, hiking trails, resort property and tourist regions.

His style is distinctive. He paints from an aerial perspective, distorted if necessary to bring a labyrinth of runs and mountain faces into a single plane.

"That's why I've lasted so long doing what I do," explained Niehues. "Every ski slope is a puzzle to me; to turn all those slopes so you can get the best view. "

Niehues works out of a well-organized basement studio in the modest house he shares in Loveland, Colo., with his wife, Dora, who handles the business end of things.

To craft a map, Niehues researches his subject, checking satellite images on Google Earth, existing maps, blueprints and photographs. Then, whenever possible, he visits the resort, taking photographs from the air while being flown over at various altitudes.

"By the time I get down from the flight I know what perspective I can get to represent the mountain," he said. If he can't make the flight personally, he asks the resort to supply aerial photographs.

Niehues starts by providing the client with a couple of small sketches, followed by a large pencil on vellum drawing. The sketch time can take from a day to a week, depending on the size of the resort.

Once he gets the client's approval, he begins painting in gouache, an opaque watercolor, on a 30-by-40 inch prepared illustration board. This method allows him to lift the color and update sections as resorts change over the years.

Small ski areas might require three days of painting, while large resorts require 10, depending on the number of trees. Regional representations can take up to three weeks.

Niehues licenses the image to the client, but he maintains the copyright. His most lucrative job was $13,500 for a regional map, six years ago.

"If there were two really good artists in this business, we'd both starve," he said.

Niehues will sketch one resort while painting another, but he only paints one at a time.

"I tried doing several at a time in my early career. It was OK but they would end up looking similar and I didn't like that," he explained.

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The World at 40

ORLANDO, Fla. — Back in 1971, Disney promised us the World. And that's precisely what it delivered — in spades.

Walt Disney World's castle door flew open Oct. 1 that year, unwrapping an entertainment complex that would go on to vastly overshadow its Western sibling, Disneyland.

I was there, as a youngster, during that inaugural year, after begging my parents to take me.

I clearly remember my first Mark IV monorail ride, excitedly sliding across the car's seats, the four swinging doors loudly clacking open. Then my first wondrous glance at the gleaming turrets of Cinderella Castle. I was hooked!

The Walt Disney World experience became indelibly entwined with fond memories of fun, friends and family. Very moving and truly magical.

That's by design, of course. Walt Disney's design, fulfilling his biggest dream, transformed some 40 square miles of orange groves and woods into a paradise.

A vivid memory from my first visit was the Disney promise: that Walt Disney World would never be complete. It would be ever evolving, constantly growing, continually updated.

The magic of that promise has come to pass in glorious fashion.

When the World opened, it consisted of the Magic Kingdom theme park, two themed resorts at the Contemporary and the Polynesian, and the Fort Wilderness campground.

Today the San Francisco-size property houses four theme parks, two water parks, 25 Disney-themed resort hotels (seven with Vacation Club digs), the Downtown Disney entertainment district, Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, a cruise line, a wedding pavilion and more.

After 40 years and hundreds of millions of guests, that promise continues.

Far behind Cinderella Castle, a monumental project is rising from the Pixie dust: It's the stunning Fantasyland expansion, the largest in the history of the Magic Kingdom. When complete, Fantasyland will be doubled in size. Various phases will open throughout the next two years.

Amid the lush green forest covering the former 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea site, a castle of another sort spikes dramatically into the air. The central point of a new Belle neighborhood, the Beast's majestic castle will house Be Our Guest, a 550-seat restaurant presenting three dining themes: the lavish ballroom, gallery and West Wing from the classic "Beauty and the Beast" film. There will be fast food by day and table service by night.

Nearby, Maurice's cottage will beckon guests to Enchanted Tales With Belle, an interactive meet-and-greet. A 21/2-foot Audio-Animatronic Lumiere magically whisks guests through a mirror and into the Beast's library to join Belle for a retelling of their story. Elsewhere in Belle's village, guests can enjoy a rousing visit to Gaston's Tavern.

Turn the corner, and you will approach Prince Eric's castle and the seaside home of Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid, a sweeping attraction retelling the story of Ariel. Guests board clamshell omnimovers to bob above and below the waves, reliving the great scenes from the film, encounter an ominous 7-foot-tall Ursula and enjoy hundreds of singing and dancing Audio-Animatronic sea creatures. It's all topped off with a meet-and-greet with the "real" Ariel, a live character, and Scuttle's Scavenger Hunt, an interactive game for kids.

Smack dab in the center of the new Fantasyland forest will be the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, a cross between a family coaster and a dark ride. Featuring an innovative new ride system with vehicles that sway from side to side responding to the track's every twist, guests are whisked inside and out on a rollicking jaunt through the Dwarfs' diamond mine to Snow White's cottage with, perhaps, a visit from the Evil Queen and Snow White herself.

Once the Dwarfs are in their new home, Snow White's Scary Adventures becomes Princess Fairytale Hall, a new meet-and-greet royal court for live characters Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and all the princesses.

On the former site of Mickey's Toontown Fair, the new Storybook Circus area will boast a Double Dumbo. That's two carousels of Dumbo the Flying Elephant whirling guests on the classic flight from behind pachyderm ears. Straddling the Dumbo wheels, a Big Top tent will burst with interactive games.

Next door, the Great Goofini, a re-imagined Barnstormer roller coaster starring Goofy, will swoop guests on a daredevil mission.

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Whisked away to another world

Find out what a gourmet cooking class at the estate of the Hostellerie Berard in La Cadiere d'Azur, France is like.

It is day four of cooking class at La Bastide des Saveurs, and many of the 14 students are looking for chairs to catch a few minutes of rest before the whisking begins. But it is also dessert day, so a delicious reward at the end is guaranteed.

Such are the joys, and challenges, of a gourmet cooking class at the estate of the Hostellerie Berard in La Cadiere d'Azur, France.

There is work to be done, and instructions to follow, during a day that can stretch to seven hours. The key also is to have fun. Who wants to work on vacation?

The setting is movie-set-perfect: The rustic kitchen of a 19th century country house in the Provencal countryside. Pass by the herb and vegetable garden on the way to the kitchen with chef Rene Berard.

A cutting board and knife await each student around the wooden block table. Bowls of cubed butter, sugar, yellow apples and pine nuts give clues to the day's tasks. Berard walks in, and it's time to grab your knife, or your pen to take notes, and get cooking.

This class has its share of English speakers — from Australia, Canada, South Carolina and Chicago — so the translator takes her spot across from Berard. The veal stock is already boiling on the stove, and the smell is heavenly. Every so often during the day, an assistant stops by to pour in another bottle of red wine or drop in herbs, vegetables — even hooves.

The cooking lineup includes two kinds of tarts, lemon and apple, along with chocolate fondant (think: the original molten chocolate cake), a wafer and fruit creation, and a French classic in sauce vanille bourbon.

The students take turns cracking eggs, whisking ("No air!" cautions the chef), rolling out pastry, stirring sauces, even tossing cooked apples in the pan before the concoction is set aflame. Do something wrong, and you get a gentle suggestion from Berard. Do it correctly, and you get a smile and "Ah, perfect."

There is time to soak in the atmosphere. The window is cracked open and reveals a prototypical Provence countryside. Copper pans crowd the space above the stove, and dried herbs in glass jars line the countertops. The tile walls of red and yellow shout Provence.

Desserts do not make a meal, so the lesson also includes an artichoke salad featuring artichokes from the garden. The students have had a hand in the entire lunch menu, so the lamb that was deboned and put in a marinade days ago is brought out. Berard arranges the meat just so before he hands it over to assistants to cook. That pot of veal stock is strained; not much is left from a day of work, but what a taste it has.

Then it is outside to the terrace to enjoy the fruits of the students' labor. A table under canopy is already set with glasses, cutlery and bottles of wine.

The students and Berard take their seats, and the food parade begins: bread and olive tapenade and anchovy paste; ratatouille; lamb with pistachio butter; vegetable terrine; mashed potatoes; artichokes with shallots, celery and mushrooms. And desserts.

Conversation ranges from the nightly parties (the seaport of Cassis is on the night's agenda) to the bouillabaisse to the honey farm visited earlier in the week.

One of the younger students, recent college grad Arielle Saporta of Chicago, marveled at the garden tour earlier in the week. "There were four different types of basil," she said.

The 1 p.m. stated ending time stretches to 3:30 p.m., but no one wants to leave.

There is talk that Berard will not be doing this much longer. Someone asks him directly. His words are translated: "The day I don't have a passion, I'll stop."

The students nod knowingly, then offer a toast.

If you go

La Cadiere d'Azur is one of those picturesque French towns. It is big enough to have several decent restaurants and small enough that you feel you are experiencing life as a resident.

The charming Hostellerie Berard (hotel-berard.com) occupies several buildings in town. It may seem as if you are on a treasure hunt as you travel down corridors, up and down steps and across alleys to find your room. Ours had no embellishments but was functional and clean. The extras came in the fabulous view of the refreshing pool and enchanting valley below. Rooms range from $145 out of season to $420 for a suite in peak summer season.

The family of chef Rene Berard runs the hotel, the top-notch restaurant and the cooking school. Most cooking students opt for the longer four-day class; costs, including room for five nights, breakfasts and other events, start at $2,450. You can also do what I did and hook up with a group for a one-day class; my rate was $215. The schedule changes (classes begin again in September), so it is best to check for availability.

The location gives you day-trip options in Provence and the Cote d'Azur. Cassis has the beach and the seaside restaurants. Le Castellet has steep streets and touristy shops but a great regional wine shop at its base. Bormes-les-Mimosas has wonderful flowers and towering seascape views.

lbergstrom@tribune.com

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